Kock signs deal with Luxembourg teamBy PAUL SIEGFRIED Sports Editor
Monday, September 10, 2007 9:44 AM EDT
Alex Kock achieved a number of firsts during his time playing basketball at Huntington University. Now as an HU graduate, he's achieved one more.
After a season in which he became the first Forester to be named NAIA Division II National Player of the Year, Kock becomes the first HU player to sign a professional basketball contract, completing a deal with the BC Mess team of a pro league in Luxembourg.
"Pro basketball was always in the back of my mind, and then over my years at Huntington, I thought I'd be able to do it," said Kock. "Now I'm just going to go over there and give it my best shot. It's just a one-year contract, so I'll go and see how I play and if I like it. I'm looking forward to the opportunity."
He signed the deal on Thursday, and left for Luxembourg Saturday. He will be playing for the team in the town of Esch-sur-alzette in the southern part of the small country, about nine miles from the nation's capital of Luxembourg City.
The team's first practice was Saturday, so Kock expected to miss the first workout. The league begins play at the end of September.
"To be honest, I don't know a whole lot about the league, but they've obviously seen film on me. I'm going over there not really knowing a whole lot about it," said Kock Friday.
Soon after his senior season ended with an NAIA Tournament loss in Branson, Mo., Kock signed with an agent and began exploring professional opportunities. He focused primarily in Europe, but also kept options open in other parts of the world, including Australia.
"My agent has connections over in Europe, so I've been working with him all summer trying to find a team," said Kock. "I did talk to a guy from Australia, but their season is just getting over now and doesn't start again until January, so I thought I would go over to Europe and play and then come back here in the summers."
Each team in the Luxembourg league is allowed to have two American players, but Kock will be the lone player from the United States on the BC Mess squad. As part of the deal, the team will provide Kock with a car and an apartment.
Kock got a taste of basketball overseas during the summer when he traveled to the Ukraine for a week and played in games against the Ukrainian National Team. He found that the European style of play suited his game.
"It's more fundamental basketball over there. I'm not the most athletic guy, but I think I have pretty good fundamentals, so I think that might help me there," he said.
Huntington University coach Steve Platt was drafted by the then-Baltimore Bullets following his All-America career at Huntington, but was the final player cut during training camp. Platt said Kock has the ability to continue his success in basketball.
"He’s very deserving of the opportunity to play professionally because he’s worked so hard,” said Platt. “He is a very self-motivated individual. His legacy at Huntington University will run for many, many years. Lots of people appreciate what he’s stood for in the classroom and on the floor. Our returning players, especially, will remember what he taught them for years to come.”
As a senior, Kock led the Foresters with an average of 23.4 points and 10 rebounds per game. He shot 55 percent from the field, 45 percent from behind the three-point line and 84 percent from the free-throw line.
He finished his three-year career at HU as the school's fifth all-time leading scorer with 2,182 points. He also had 824 rebounds in his 104-game HU career.
After playing his freshman season at Wright State, Kock transferred to Huntington, and was named Mid-Central Conference Player of the year in each of his next three seasons, also a first for an HU player. He was a second-team NAIA All-American as a sophomore and a first-team selection in his junior and senior campaigns. He led the Foresters to a runner-up finish in the NAIA tournament as a junior in 2006.
www.h-ponline.com/articles/2007/09/10/sports/002kock.txt